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Backstory - Blog Posts
"Toby!" I called out to the celestial minister.
He visibly sighed. "Yes, my king?" I knew he was just tired.
I beamed at him. "I would like for you to follow me."
"Why?"
I slung my arm around his neck. "I have something for you."
He looked at me as he reminded me, "The last time you wanted to do that, you had a constellation there in the flesh and not where it belonged in the sky!"
I rolled my eyes at the memory. "You know that my brother and I see you as family, right?"
"Yeah..." he trailed off.
"I know that you worry about us, too. So," I pulled a small, plain box out of my cloak and handed it to him, "I want to give you peace of mind."
He gingerly opened the box. He pulled out the pin I'd asked an apprentice metal worker to make. It was divided in half, one side a warm yellow and the other a gentle white, and some silver going down between the two.
"What-?"
"If either of us are in trouble, the respective sides will light up. Yellow for my brother and white for me," I explained.
"But... Why?" He looked up at me. "I-I mean, I appreciate the gift but why did you give me a gift?"
"Tommorow is your birthday."
"You aren't planning to do anything stupid, are you?"
I smiled, "I don't want my brothers to worry. So, no, I will stay here."
The Northern Vulpes is always the first constellation to appear in the autumn sky. I loved how the kids would create stories for each other about how mischievous or clever or generous it was to the other constellations.
During one of the celestial festivals, the moon released some animals that looked like the Northern Vulpes. They had illuminated pelts that even shone in the day.
Coyotes had warm colors while the wolves, who were much larger like real wolves, had cooler tones.
The children loved them. Some preferred the coyotes while others preferred the wolves.
Over the years, some of those beings just… ran away. This was a couple hundred years ago, though. There have been sightings of some but the beings always run off before anything can be done.
Mostly, though, they don't bother us and we don't bother them.
"I made a promise years ago to a boy who's hair was color of autumn and eyes the color of spring," I murmured a reminder as I cleaned off my broadsword.
"Pour soul," I murmured as I came across someone who lost their way and perished in the desert. Necromancy is illegal and only useable by mages who heal people. I heal and raise plants.
The soil was too hard for me to bury the person and the rocks were far too hot for me to carry so I draped some stitched furs I had in my bag.
I knelt and prayed a quick prayer that this soul would be guided safely over to the other side.
"And you're sure that this will work?" I questioned the tinkers I'd assigned to this position.
"Almost completely certain," the head tinker confirmed. He looked more wisened than the others. If my memory is right, he has been a tinker since he was a lad.
"If it does work," I started as I looked into it's hollow eyes, "it will save many lives."
It looked like the twelve that were already here when I came to power but it held some semblance to some of my brother's, as well.
"It's ready when you are, your majesty," the head tinker said.
"Hour thirteen," I stated with authority, "what do you see?"
The eyes lit up with a hollow orange color as it was activated.
"I see the fall of night," it replied. The wording was odd.
"Does it work?" I turned to the tinker who stood beside me. He was younger than the head tinker, his hair was comforting like the autumn.
"Well, it is dusk. So, I guess it does," he answered me in a meek tone. This tinker worked day and night on how it was supposed to work and behave.
"I'm not allowing it out unless you're sure it works," I told him in a tone that I would use with nightmare victims.
He looked down, still timid.
"Are you sure this works?" I repeated, still as patient as ever.
"Yes, it works," he affirmed, more certain now.
I smiled. There was the spark I was looking for.
"Thank you for your service, Hour Thirteen," I thanked, directing my attention to the waiting clockwork soldier.
"The night will not be long," it said.
I didn't like how empty it sounded but the tinkers told me that as it aged, it would start filling up with moments.
"The night is never very long," I told it. Day always follows night.
"Hey, pretty girl," I murmured to the Púca I adopted when she was a small filly.
She grunted a quiet greeting before she came up to me. She grabbed a bit of the fabric on my shoulder and gave it a gentle tug.
"How long has it been since I last saw you?"
She whinnied but let go of my shoulder.
"Since yesterday?" I gave a fake frustrated sigh, "That's too long!" I hugged her around her neck. Her fur was coarser than that of other horses and ponies I've met but I wouldn't change anything about her. The other ones are nice but they aren't her.
She nudged me enough to take a small step back, reminding me why I originally came down to visit her.
"Do you want a snack?" I asked her. "Snack?"
She nuzzled me a bit harder.
"Which hand is the snack in?" She was always a smart girl.
She stood there for a moment before nudging my right shoulder. I rolled the apple to my right hand and held it out to her.
"Smart girl," I murmured as she ate the apple. I rubbed her ears just the way she likes it. "I'm going to talk to my big, fat, mean brother to see if I can't bring you into the court so I can give you all the love and rubs you want." I couldn't stop a soft chuckle. "He isn't big, fat, or mean."
The Púca I've known since she was a filly nickered in agreement. She's met my brother and likes him well enough but still doesn't like how he keeps her from me.
"You be nice to him the next time you see him, okay?" I murmured against her forehead.
Great. I was on my way from the capital and one of those clockwork soldiers stopped me.
"Where are you going?" it asked as it stopped me from going any further.
I've been warned that there's still one functional at all times. I didn't know what time it was, so it might not be that one.
"What hour are you?" Every clockwork soldier works only during the hour it was named after. There are some that I think are either decoys or meant to scare people, since they never work.
"I am hour thirteen," it answered me, its empty eyes boring into mine.
This one, number thirteen, people have named the liar. No matter what it says, it is never true. I've met it once before and it said that it was going to snow in the middle of summer.
"I'm going home," I replied to the soldier. It's the law for citizens to answer human and clockwork soldiers.
There was a sound of clicking gears before it cocked its head off to the side and said, "Long live the King."
"Yeah," I muttered, walking by once he let me pass, "long live the King of the Day."
Its cold metal hand grabbed my wrist.
"Yes, long live the King of the Day. But I originally meant his brother."
The King's brother is a myth, a legend, something that never has and never will happen.
The clockwork soldier numbered thirteen let me go.
bonus points to whoever can guess their backstory based on what I've given (points reduced if I told you already) check out the [master post] to see more designs for this world!!!
Fate isn’t so nice to Chara, this is only the begining- Ni
previous/first: here next: ->
Luck Fortune
You are walking along the streets of Winona, Minnesota when your eyes meet a poster. The poster has the following things:
An address, scarlet and gold colored lines on all 4 corners of the poster, and some text that reads;
"Hello there! Are your finances in the gutter, or do you need a little more luck on your side? Well then, you are welcome to join Luck Fortune at the address below! May good fortunes fall upon you."
Curious, you set the GPS on your phone for the address that the poster had. You walk to your destination through some woodlands and over a cobblestone bridge. You finally arrive at your destination, a 3 story victorian style mansion adorned with marble statues of a tall robed creature on the left and right of the house. You walk through the front door where an smiling 30 year old woman with black hair tied in a ponytail greets you at an reception desk.
The mansions' exterior
"Hello there, new arrival," The woman pleasantly spoke in a airy tone, "Welcome to Luck Fortune! My name is Abigail Smith, what is your name?"
This is how most people join the group known as Luck Fortune. Located within the area of Winona, Minnesota, this odd assemblage of people of all genders and backgrounds give offerings to their deity known as Mammon. As far back as the 1879, this group has been spreading the word of Mammon and his fortune to those in unfortunate circumstances of financial troubles.
The leader of Luck Fortune is a man with very pale skin named Elias McCarthy. Legend has it that back in February 15th, 1869, Mammon came to him in a dream claiming to come with fortune and hope of luck if he starts to worship him. Elias accepted the terms and conditions and he has now become the founder and leader of Luck Fortune.
But before we actually get into some of the activities, we should look at the hierarchy in the form of a pyramid like below.
The lowest level within the group are the "New arrivals" (in the purple row). They often get sacrificed to Mammon himself for having poor luck. Or if low on members, the new arrivals will be given a chance to move a level. The "new arrivals" are the only ones who are made to wear the classic satin robes.
Barely above the purple row in the pink row are the regular members. The "regulars", (as the higher ups call them) do most of the hard work (gardening, maintenance, analytics, and holding people down for sacrifices) when the new arrivals aren't able to. However, the difference between the "regulars" and the "new arrivals" are that the "regulars" are able to receive actual benefits from their amulets, such as increased luck and a youthful look, while the new arrivals are only given simplistic necklaces that don't really do anything other than look pretty. The "regulars" wear the same clothes that they normally wear outside of the group as long as the clothes look professional.
Above the pink row are the "Earners". These guys are the ones behind the finances that Mammon gives the entire cult. They are often the ones to ritually stab the unlucky ones who were picked in something called "The Lottery" once every month. "Earners" are the ones who start to wear red bow ties with a single eye in the middle. Not only are the bow ties able to give the wearer immortality, temporary strength, and good luck, but the bow ties are also able to be an extra eye that experiences the wearer's emotions and they can show stock market statistics.
Above the red row are the "Golden". "The Golden" are not often seen within the cult premises, but when they do arrive, they are the wisest people besides the cult leader.
What a night...
It was late... At least for me it was. I just got off work around 10pm for my shift at work...
My last shift, that is...
My job just dropped me without any warnings, without any write ups and no notice for me to prepare to have a new job lined up whatsoever. Just proving further to never show loyalty to a multi-billion dollar cooperation.
Body on auto-pilot mode, weaving through the crowds of people and monsters in the city and just cancelling out the noises around me, my mind couldn't help but wonder... Why? Why would they just drop me? I've worked for the company for 5 years. I've always arrived early, stayed extra if needed and if I was ever sick, I made sure to provide a doctor's note so I wouldn't have any unexcused absences on my record. So why—
…Wait. Hold up...
“Due to recent events, and information provided from our PR team that also works with social media, we are letting go a few workers within this company. This is nothing personal, but we need to make sure that the people that work for this company are people that best represents us, our values, and what we stand for, and we feel that this company isn’t for you.”
“…Information provided from our PR team that also works with social media…”
“…people that work for this company…”
“…best represent us, our values, and what we stand for…”
This could be a goddamn coincidence, but… Did those fuckers fired me because they found out I was an activist taking part in a protest for monster rights?!
That had to be it—it was rumored that the company and its CEO were against even the most basic rights Monsters well deserved. The last protest was a combo of fighting for Monsters to have the right to have Driver’s Licenses and legalization of Monster-Human marriage. The human police got involved and it became a huge thing all over the News and online. The PR team must have found out some of their workers were taking part in the protest and had to clean house. Ugh…
As I stopped walking for a moment, I saw the bright red neon sign of my usual hangout, Grillby’s. The owner, Grillby, was a fire monster and a good friend of mine. Though he was a monster of few words, his actions spoke for him. I worry one of these nights, he’ll get sick of me just venting to him and crying into my drinks. Honestly, tonight was very much needed for me to get shit faced and ugly cry…
Stepping through the door and with the ring of a bell, my being was engulfed in a welcoming warmth and cheerful atmosphere. The usual patrons in their usual seats as if this bar was their second home—and it really was. Grillby’s place was that nice of a business. Looks like Doggo is having a ruff night playing Blackjack with the others and is barking up a storm. That bunny monster is giggling her ears off and slumped over in her booth. The same chill music is still playing on that old jukebox. It was nice… This place was nice…
Taking my seat at the bar, Grillby already knew I had a lot on my mind and had some hot fries ready for me and told me he’d make my usual drink—which was a spiked spider cider. He and Muffet have been working with ideas on food and drink so they can both benefit and see what other folks like and where they can improve. It’s nice.
“And it’s such fucking bullshit that they’d just… just, uhh… fuck, what did I say? Fuck, right! My company just fucking fired me because they’re just ugly bigot fuckwads! Humans trapped Monsters underground for Gods know how long and now that y’all are back, they wanna act all superior and try to lord over Monsters and prevent y’all from having equal… uh… things!!! It’s bullshit!”
“…And it’s time to cut you off for tonight, Julia.”
“Noooo, Grillbyyyy, I’m not drunk. I only has 1 drink…”
“And that was my mistake. You can’t handle your alcohol—especially monster alcohol… Did you want to head back to my loft to relax for the night?”
“Nnn… Too many words… Grillby, lemme have another—my job sucks butt and I wanna drink til I can’t feel feelings anymore…”
“…heh, keep your gin up, kiddo. it’ll get better with time. after all, we ale make pour decisions.”
And that’s when I met him…
“A… A talking skeleton monster…?”
It was like he came out of nowhere, but… There he was, next to me. A rather short skeleton monster with… eyes lights as bright and beautiful as a galaxy and an outfit to match. Gosh, were those sparkly freckles on his zygomatic bones? Cute… And… He’s floating? Is he doing that with his magic? I mean, I shouldn’t assume gender, but with a voice so rich and deep like that, I…
“…Wait, was that a pun?”
[Next: A Black Rose]
hey. probably the most banal question, but—.. does Natt have any relatives? or a sisters and brothers?
Banal? I think you just asked a very critical question dude...
Also the numbered text in the last image is the same text as the encryption in the last question post.